If Teresa Lived
by oldestj1
Summary: A different ending... my take on what could have happened in TDC.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, just rewatched TDC. Still don't like how Teresa died. And come on, Aris had a line attached to him. He could of easily jumped and saved her. Might be like 3-5 chapters but who knows. Basketball and summer classes are starting this week so, we'll see how much I procrastinate. Again, this is how I would have liked it to end. **

**_Disclaimer: I do not own anything of The Maze Runner._**

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_Teresa POV_

The building was falling. The floor started to shake. I knew in the next second I would be falling into a fiery furnace. Never to see my friends again, never get the chance to apologize to them, never to see the paradise that was promised. Never see Thomas again, the one person that always gave me another chance, even when I didn't deserve it. I'll never get the chance to tell him how much that has meant to me, how much I needed him to be there when I was confused. I'll never get to tell him how much I love him. Never get to kiss him again, to feel his soft lips pressing against mine.

I turn back to the Berg that is floating just out of reach if I jumped. Minho, Aris, and Janson are yelling to just jump. Their arms are extended out over the ledge. I can see Gally yelling into the plane and waving his arms to get closer. But, I know it is too late. Brenda is holding Thomas' side, slowly the bleeding. Even when I am on the brink of death I still feel the sting of jealousy as she cares for the man I love.

Thats until Thomas rolls onto his side, locking eyes with me. I see the pain and desperation on his face, his mouth going into a straight line. I keep my eyes locked as I feel the floor start to cave under me. I block out the screams of my friends and just focus on Thomas, hoping that my eyes are saying what I never will.

The floor disappears, my stomach flies up into my mouth. I don't close my eyes, keeping it on the Berg that holds every person that I have come to care about. The smoke starts to sting my eyes, forcing tears to leak through, still I keep them open. I hear Thomas' scream above everyone else.

Suddenly, I see a black figure falling after me. It's getting closer and closer until it hits me. Its arms wrap around me just as it jerks to a stop. My back aches from the sudden jolt, I gasp in the smoke that surrounds us. I can feel the heat of the fire at my back and the rumble of the building falling around us.

The thing that caught me is saying something, whether to me or something else I don't know. The smoke is making it hard breath, I start coughing into the person's chest.

"HOLD ON! *cough cough* WE'LL BE SAFE SOON!" *cough cough* It's Aris, he's the one that was falling after me. He was the one who caught me and was yelling. Now we're being pulled up by our friends. He jumped off the Berg to save my life. I'll get to see Thomas again.

That was my last thought before the smoke became too much and went limp in his arms.

_Thomas POV_

The Bergs ramp is ice cold on my back. Rough metal digging into my back. I feel hands running over my body, finally resting on my side to and pressing. I hardly feel it as my friends screams pulls be back to the edge. I roll to my side to lock eyes with Teresa. Her blue eyes stay steady on mine, even through the smoke, fire, and debris that is flying around us.

Her hair keeps flying in her face, I can still see the tear streaks on her cheeks. Her lips, that I just kissed moments ago, are still pink. I hear Brenda saying my name, telling me to lay back down, but I can't bring myself to lose sight of the only person I have truly loved.

Even though she betrayed my friends and I, even though she lied to me and worked with WICKED against me. Even when she knew I didn't trust her and wanted nothing to do with her. I still loved her. Even when I didn't want to, I loved her.

Now, she is just feet away, looking at me like I am the love of her life. I hope that whoever is flying this thing will get closer so I can find out for sure. But, just as we start towards her again, the building collapses. Her black hair blocks her face as her arms rise up.

"NOOOOOOOO!" I scream at the top of my lungs. My chest feels empty as I watch her disappear into the smoke and fire. I roll back over closing my eyes. Teresa's face flashing across my memories, my very best to the very worst of them.

I hear my friends voices yelling things, Brenda pressing on my side trying to get me to talk to her. But how could I. I didn't want Brenda talking to me, telling me that everything was going to be okay. I wanted Teresa there, telling Minho to get bandages, making Gally and Aris carry me further into the Berg. I want Teresa to look me in the eye and kiss me again. So, that I could have a chance to ask her how she really feels and tell her exactly how I feel.

I won't though. Teresa, my love, fell into a furnace and I couldn't do anything. She sacrificed herself for me and I couldn't save her.

As I start to lose consciousness, I hear the yells and grunts of my friends. The last thing I hear is Brenda saying, "Hang on Thomas. It's gonna be okay."

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**Hoped you liked it. I will do another chapter of them waking up and possibly life in 'Paradise' as a third. Still feeling it out. Let me know what you think! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_Teresa POV_

The air smelled different. It seemed…lighter. Not weighing you down or pressing in on you. It doesn't have the chemical smell that lingered in the city or the starch cleanness of the lab. Not even the sweaty farm stench that I woke up to in the Glade with all those boys around me. It smelled fresh. Like nothing has touched it yet.

A light flickered across my eye lids, seeming to ask me to start to wake up. It happened again, shining a little longer, a little brighter. Curious, I rolled my head to the side, trying to rouse my numb body. I feel my fingers twitch, feeling something soft: a blanket?

Taking a deep breath I force my eyes open, immediately blinded my the light that I liked a moment ago. Groaning I sit up, rubbing my eyes while trying to see where I am. There is a small table across from me, with a chair to match. The table has some bottles on it with some food. My stomach grumbles at the sight. My legs are stiff as I stand and feel tingly as I shuffle the short distance.

"She should be awake any time now. Her head went through a lot of trauma and the smoke really clogged her lungs. She needed these extra weeks to heal and rest."

"I understand, thanks Doc. Do her friends know?"

"They have visited here just as much as they visit Thomas. They will be getting nice surprises soon."

My body goes numb again and my mind only registers one thing: Thomas. The voices came a little ways away from my doorway. An old cloth as a makeshift door is quite easy to hear through. Then I realize something, 'visited here just as much as they visit Thomas'. So, Minho and Aris and Gally are here. They got us to here, to Paradise.

My head starts to spin as memories come back from the fight in the lab, to the race through the halls to the roof, and then the desperate feeling to get Thomas on that Berg. I sink into the chair as my fear and desperation come back full force. I don't feel my tears until they fall on my hands. My nose starts to run so I wipe my sleeve under it, sniffing.

_'__They must care. If they trusted Thomas enough to come find me and risk their lives rescuing me, that must mean something. But, what will they say? They still don't trust me. How mad, disappointed, betrayed they felt and still feel. That Thomas is hurt because of you. Thomas almost died because of you. We only came here to make sure you weren't sneaking off, back to WICKED.'_

My thoughts are so jumbled I grab the closest thing to me when a woman walks into my room. I look down the short line of a hair brush into brown eyes. The woman looks young. More middle age young, with a few grey hairs starting to show. She's startled to see me standing and pointing a brush at her so threateningly. But then she smiles kindly and says, "Hello Teresa. I am Dr. Mary Cooper. I have been taking care of you and your friends for the past couple of weeks. How are you feeling?"

She walks to the bed and sits. I lower the brush and sit again in the chair.

"Where am I exactly?"

"You are in the infirmary part of camp. With so many people coming in, some having to be quarantined, we moved you to the farthest edge. Your friends agreed it would be best to keep you asleep for a while longer so your bodies could rest."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A month roughly. When you and your friends arrived, you were unconscious. When we examined you we found severe head trauma and a semi collapsed lung, due to the smoke you must have inhaled. We were able to fully expand your lung again with surgery. If you lift your shirt you'll see the scar, just below your left breast. Other than a few bruises and scratches, you've made a healthy recovery."

I slowly lift a hand, running it under my shirt until I feel the roughness of the scar. Taking a deep breath, I nod. "Where is Thomas and my friends? Minho, Aris, Gally…?"

"They are doing fine. They have been helping us build new shelters, homes essentially. Thomas though, has been unconscious like you. When you arrived, Thomas' wound required some minor surgery and a few stitches. He also experienced some head trauma and had trouble breathing. We kept him asleep for his body to recover properly from all the stress."

"When can I see him?"

"When we are done here, I can take you to his room. Your friends should be over there as well. They usually sit with him around this time." Dr. Cooper stands up and sets her bag on the table next to me. She pulls out a few pills and more food.

"Take these pills. They're supplements to help your body recover." She nudges the food, a loaf of bread, closer to me. "The pills will activate quicker if you have something on your stomach."

Curious I watch her as she pulls out a clipboard and starts writing things down. She mutters a few numbers to herself before scratching down the sum.

"You were the doctor that helped cure Brenda…. When we all escaped the first time." Her eyes flick to me then back to the board. She signs, like she has something unpleasant to say.

"Yes. But, Thomas was the one who really helped. Without his blood, the procedure wouldn't have worked. That was also the time when you betrayed us." Her eyes met mine now, holding steady. Fear and guilt sink into my stomach, fulling realizing the situation I am in. The last time any of these people saw me was when I was getting on that Berg. When WICKED killed and injured the people who managed to escape and helped us. When I betrayed my friends and Thomas.

"I know it's a little late but, I am sorry. I did what I thought was right. Now, I wish I made a different decision. I hope I can make things right now that WICKED is gone and we are all safe."

My thin fingers pick at the denim material of my pants. They feel soft, like they have been worn before. Dr. Cooper keeps her eyes on me as I try to avoid her. Surprisingly, she takes my hand, sending shocks up my arm.

"I….understand how things could have been confusing and…. I guess, quite clear to you. WICKED gave you things you were told you would never get back, they told you that the same could be for your friends but, well…. We saw what happened when they didn't agree."

My eyes stay on the hand holding mine. It's not gripping it like Ava Paige would, nearly breaking off my fingers and making me feel cold. Dr. Cooper simply held it, running her thumb over my knuckles at times. It's comforting.

"Thank you for helping my friends when I should have and didn't. I really am sorry for what happened. I only hope I can try and make up for what was lost."

"That's all I can ask for sweetie. But, right now, I believe there is a certain someone you would like to see." Dusting off her pants, she moves to the curtain in the doorway, pulling it back. Excitement starts to pump in my veins as I stand to follow her.

Stepping out of my little hut, I am immersed into a growing new world. People of all ages, sizes, and color are moving about lifting, cutting, molding, stacking, lowering different things. They are carrying food that I know and didn't know, putting some on the fire or taking the rest into small houses. Wood, rocks, rope, and metal could be heard knocking, snapping, and clanging against each other. Laughter could be heard. Conversations were either being spoken quietly between two women shucking corn or by 5 men shouting over how much higher a beam had to go. Children were squealing with carefree joy as they dodged each other and the working adults. It was new life that I was walking into, something I had only scratched the surface of before. No, I never knew life could be like this. This is the new world Thomas was talking about.

I try to stick close to Dr. Cooper as much as I can. But keeping her in sight is more easy, allowing me to bob and weave through the crowd of people building their new lives. Looking around, the construction alone is amazing. _And to think I could have been their destruction._ Memories flash to my mind what happened, of what I did. There are probably still people here that remember me or what I did as well. If Dr. Cooper was any sign, she was a graceful one. I duck my head and move quickly to catch up with her, not wanting to be recognized quite yet.

We keep walking along what I assume are roads until we reach a main square. There are large fire pits with benches around them. There are steps leading down into it, making it seem almost like a gathering place. In the middle stood a large rock. Maybe ten feet high and six feet wide. I reach out to ask Dr. Cooper what it is when I hear, "Teresa!"

I stop in my tracks, turning my head to find the voice. Not being very tall, it is difficult to look over so many people. But then, I see a head of black, spiky hair and two gloved hands waving at me. Faintly, I hear Dr. Cooper say, "There they are" with a light chuckle.

I start to move towards my friend, a smile breaking on my face. He keeps his arms wide as he nears me, his grin almost as big. "Hi."

His arms clamp around me in a gentle vice. He picks me up and does a small spin making me squeal.

"Minho! You dork!" Giving him a light slap on the shoulder, he just squeezes me tighter then lets me go.

"Glad to have you back Teresa." Minho keeps his eyes on me. His smile stays but his eyebrows crease slightly. Reverting to his signature stance, hands on his hips with one hip cocked to the side, he gives me the chance.

I duck my head, sorting through exactly what I want to say. "I'm sorry. For everything. I did what I thought was right and…they had things and said things that….. I shouldn't have betrayed you like I did…."

"You're right you shouldn't 'ave."

Trying not to roll my eyes I continue, "….yes, and I'm sorry for all the things they did to you. I should have kept you safer."

"Yep."

"I mean it Minho… I'm sorry. For everything." Catching his gaze for the last part, I feel my heart start to speed up. _Will he accept it? Did I miss anything? Should I have said more…or less? _He raises his chin slightly, almost the beginning of a nod. He lets out a deep breath then says, "Thomas went back for you. He somehow knew where you were and that you wanted out. I told him he would get himself killed if he went back….. but you know what…." He points a finger at me, taking a step closer. "He almost did. Heck, he nearly got all of us killed. But, he did it. He got you out. Even though we rescued you two, he still got you out. Now, I figure that if Thomas cares about you that much to be here, we should try and be friends again." White teeth break through his chapped lips, his cheeks squeezing his eyes together to make room for his smile. But, the brown eyes that were filled with humor and youth, now held a plea. A plea for trust, that he could trust me again. A plea that everything his friend did was not in vain, and that the people that were sacrificed won't be forgotten. That I could help him and the people that survived build a new home, a new world.

A swell of strength grows in my chest, raising my head to face him head on.

"I'd like that Minho. I'd really like that."

He hugs me again, but only for a moment. The next thing I hear is something I never thought I would hear again until I woke up just minutes ago. It sends a terrified, exciting chill down my spine.

"Teresa?"

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**Hi guys… sorry that took so long. **

**I will try to update the next chapter sooner!**


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